Efficiency upgrade for water plant

Water gurus on Friday celebrated the completion of a $12 million upgrade to Stockton's drinking water treatment plant, allowing more efficient and reliable delivery of water to the city.

Alex Breitler

Water gurus on Friday celebrated the completion of a $12 million upgrade to Stockton's drinking water treatment plant, allowing more efficient and reliable delivery of water to the city.

In the past, up to 13 percent of the water that flows into the Stockton East Water District's plant on East Main Street could not be delivered to customers because it's consumed in the treatment process.

New technology allows all but 5 percent of the water to be delivered, which is comparable to other treatment plants, officials said.

The upgrades also mean less reliance on wells. The groundwater in parts of San Joaquin County has been overtapped for years and is declining in quantity. Officials are relying more heavily on surface water from the Calaveras and Stanislaus rivers, from which water is diverted and up to 50 million gallons per day is treated at the plant.

Eventually, Stockton East plans a larger expansion project that could cost $25 million, said district General Manager Kevin Kauffman. The city, meanwhile, is embarking on its own $202 million project to draw drinking water from the Delta for the first time.

These projects all complement each other to meet the region's future demand for water, Kauffman said.

The Stockton East plant, built in the early 1970s, hasn't been expanded since 1990. At times, officials have had to treat more water than the plant's stated capacity.

The new improvements recognized Friday include a sedimentation basin, where water is filtered and cleaned. The district also refurbished its pumping station, replacing diesel pumps with electric pumps that can deliver more water and produce less pollution.

Backup generators were installed to allow officials to continue delivering water during a blackout.

City residents helped pay for the project through their water bills, said Stockton Municipal Utilities Deputy Director Bob Granberg.